Sony Handycam HDR-XR520V

In what's apparently the best absorbing development in customer camcorders appropriately far in 2009, Sony serves up the Handycam HDR-XR500 series, a brace of hard-disk-based AVCHD camcorders that accommodate the bifold firsts of congenital GPS and a fresh Exmor-R back-illuminated CMOS sensor. Admitting the GPS aspect isn't absolutely accessible for prime time--because of a array of limitations, it's added of a fun-to-have change than a reliable feature--the fresh sensor and G-series lens aggregate delivers abundant video quality. Toss in some advancements to its SteadyShot angel stabilization arrangement and a solid consumer-oriented affection set and you accept a acceptable combination--albeit one abject bottomward by the awkward touch-screen interface and a aerial price.

On the appropriate side, on either end of the adamantine deejay beneath doors, sit a array of ports and connectors. To the advanced is a proprietary jack for blended and basic output, USB, and mini HDMI, and to the aback are 3.5-millimeter headphone and mic jacks.

Bigger and added than best customer camcorders, the XR500V/XR520V will fit in a apart anorak abridged but will apparently annoyance it bottomward a bit. Because of the size, though, it's as able to anchor as the camcorders of yesteryear, with a abasement aloft the adamantine drive to bore your aback fingers into, and it feels decidedly sturdy. All the aperture covers feel actual absolutely attached.

There are two models in this series, identical except for the hard-disk size: the HDR-XR500V includes a 120GB drive (14.5 hours best affection video), while the XR520V doubles that for 240GB (29.3 hours at best quality). We activated the HDR-XR500V for this review.

At the advanced of the camcorder you'll agenda the big-barreled lens with cyberbanking lens awning belted by a beam (there's no congenital video light) and chiral dial. Admitting you baddest the absence action for the punch in the menus, to about-face amid the adjustments the punch controls--focus, exposure, AE shift, and WB shift--you columnist the axial button in and authority it. Figuring that out appropriate a cruise to the abbreviate documentation. The punch operates abundantly responsively to ascendancy these features. One disappointment, though, is the abridgement of absolute ascendancy over bang speed, iris, or audio levels as analogously priced models offer.

The XR500V/XR520V incorporates a large, aciculate 3.2-inch affectation with Home, zoom, and almanac buttons on the bezel. In its alcove sit the covered Memory Stick Duo Pro slot, affectation toggle, Easy operation button, direct-to-DVD button for use in affiliation with Sony's DVDirect Express VRD-P1 DVD Writer, and speaker. There are additionally absolute playback and Power buttons; you use the closing to override the on/off operation back you abutting the LCD or cull out the EVF.

Two switches ascendancy the GPS and low-light cutting modes. GPS support, adumbrated by the "V" at the end of Sony's camcorder artefact names, comprises a congenital antenna and in-camera geotagging of videos and photos. Sony licenses NAVTEQ's Chic 4 map abstracts to accommodate anchored maps aural the camcorder and links to GPS satellites. (Geotagging and map abstracts isn't accessible for all locations, so analysis afore you shop for or travel.) The accomplishing is fun, but limited. You can use the geo abstracts for a map affectation of all your videos, which Sony serves up in-camcorder on a map. The Chic 4 abstracts doesn't accommodate artery names or alike a complete set of landmarks; for instance, actuality in NYC it shows the Flatiron architecture and Teddy Roosevelt's birthplace, but not the Empire State Building. It marks galleries and museums, but not parks. Once you download the video to a PC, your options for video are alike added limited. Unlike with photos, there's no metadata accepted for autumn the advice with the files. As a result, Sony has to abundance it in a sidecar book with abstracts that can alone be parsed by its always annoying Account Motion Browser software.

Unfortunately, the camcorder couldn't get a GPS lock actuality in Manhattan. While that's an accepted botheration amid the alpine buildings, some accessories do administer to get a accessible lock. It formed accomplished added upstate on the banks of the Hudson river, however.

While the LCD is ample abundant to abutment the touch-screen operation, the card arrangement is ailing designed, as it's been for the aftermost several ancestors of Sony camcorders. Sony is acutely acquainted of this, as it overhauled the user interface back it formed out the HDR-TG5V this spring. It's breach into two sections, Home and Options menus. The aloft is for settings you can't change while shooting, such as allotment HD against SD, quality, 2-channel or 5.1-channel audio, or SteadyShot Active/Standard/Off. The closing is for those you ability appetite to change while recording, including atom meter/focus, acknowledgment adjustments, affairs arena modes, or toggling the flash. Quick--which card do you aces for enabling Face Detection or Smile Shutter? I'd anticipate Options, but it's Home. There's aloof too abundant arch abrading and card bouncing to acquisition any accustomed ambience back you charge it. (For a complete briefing of the XR500/XR520's appearance and card system, you can download the PDF manual.)

The lens achievement and video affection absolutely angle out on this model. Its G-series lens, based off the aforementioned eyes as Sony's dSLR lenses, seems to bear as acceptable (or alike better) after-effects than the accomplished Zeiss T*-coated lenses on antecedent prosumer models. Video looks sharp, and there's no arresting fringing or aberration. Plus, the lens focuses decidedly close. I ambition it could focus a little faster while panning, but that's not unusual. The AF and autoexposure systems accomplish appealing quickly, admitting as with best AF systems it frequently gets abashed amid beginning and accomplishments objects--that's breadth the touch-screen-based atom focus and atom beat appear in handy.

The SteadyShot stabilization arrangement works able-bodied as usual, and the fresh Active mode, which compensates for lower-frequency motion than handshake, like walking, makes a big aberration (though not bedrock steady). It's alternative because the beyond advantage breadth can aftereffect in some resolution abasement about the edges of the images, admitting I couldn't atom any on my analysis shots. Alike the LCD is added acceptable than usual; it's ample and retains afterimage in absolute sunlight, and in aggregate with the chiral focus punch is able for assuming chiral focus. While the EVF feels a bit baby and coarse, the blush and acknowledgment appears almost accurate.

The audio sounds acceptable as well, and the mic is sensitive, admitting it could absolutely use a wind filter. Still photos attending OK, admitting as you'd apprehend at the accustomed 12-megapixel resolution--interpolated up from the sensor's built-in 6 megapixels--photos attending overprocessed with occasionally animal bend artifacts. The 6-megapixel shots attending better. However, they should all book abundantly up to 8x10.

Aside from the acid interface, the Sony Handycam HDR-XR500V and XR520V are abounding by a aerial price. They're full-featured customer HD camcorders, but models targeted at home video creators are activity for at atomic $250 less, abnormally back those users are usually accommodating to abandon the EVF. In their bulk class, you apprehend added prosumer-oriented chiral controls. So admitting actuality about first-rate camcorders, you'll apparently be aloof as blessed with article a little cheaper.

Video quality, while imperfect, still ranks aerial for a customer model. Its colors are bright, saturated, and accurate, and there's a fair bit of activating range; as is archetypal of its class, it still shows a addiction to draft out highlights, but with a lot beneath abridgement of both the highs and lows than usual. The detail in acutely high-bandwidth scenes, such as a active baptize fountain, can get a little mushy--a college bit bulk than its 16Mbps best ability advice in cases like these--and there's some jitter on rapidly affective capacity like a banderole luffing in the wind.

Though the back-illuminated sensor isn't new, this is the aboriginal time we're seeing it in a product. The technology, which flips the layers so that the photosites are aloft the electronics breadth they can get added light, absolutely seems an able way to advance low-light performance, the continuing anemic aspect of customer camcorders. The camcorder absolutely fares able-bodied in low ablaze compared with all its competitors, advancement a decidedly sharp, saturated account with alone a bashful bulk of angel noise. Low Lux approach seems added able than best low-light modes, alone accepting up if necessary. It absolutely produces a brighter angel than accepted mode, with alone a bashful access in angel noise, no slow-shutter-speed artifacts (it won't bead beneath 1/30 sec), and actual little desaturation. Compared with the accepted chic leaders, all from Canon, the low-light video looks added pleasing; admitting there's a blow added noise, it produces added acceptable midtone and adumbration reproduction, for added acceptable perceived sharpness, and with added saturated colors. However, none of them do a abundant job of advancement white antithesis in low light